


Wooing The Wooer

by LokiStank



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, Loki is a science bro, Loki's a good liar, M/M, Mutual Pining, Thor is so done, Tony's an idiot, Tony-centric, Wordcount: 5.000-15.000, everyone sees it except them and everyone hates them, oblivious idiots, so is Loki, that means a lot of painful idiotic obliviousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-03 01:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16316432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiStank/pseuds/LokiStank
Summary: "-he's never going to like me anyway, Thor." Loki sounded so dejected, absolutely hopeless. So of course, Tony had to butt in and offer help."Ooh, romance problems, Lokes? I can help. I'm a master woooer." He waited for a response and was confused to say the least at Thor's boisterous laugh."Oh, Stark, I do believe you'll be able to help him."OrTony helps Loki woo a mystery man but ends up getting wooed himself.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony was on a hunt for Loki.

He hadn't seen the man all day and was really hoping to get at least an hour or so of lab time. For some reason, Loki had allowed him to conduct experiments on him. Tony had been painfully curious on the workings of Loki's magic and how - or if - it related to science. It took the most part of two months but a couple weeks ago Loki had finally agreed.

The god had just shown up in Tony's lab with his arms crossed and stared at him, waiting for Tony to get the message. He had and although he'd deny it at a later time, he'd literally jumped in joy and ran to Loki, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him to the station he'd prepared. Surprisingly, Loki didn't kill him. He'd just watched in amusement and nodded in understanding as Tony enthusiastically told him what he'd planned.

Ever since Thor showed up a year ago with Loki in tow, patiently but nervously explaining his brother's capture at the hands of Thanos, Tony started seeing him in a very new light. Especially after Thor had drunkenly told them of Loki's _coeercive_  part in the invasion. Everyone had been hesitant at accepting Loki at first but after the revelation they were a lot warmer towards him. 

Loki's presence in the lab kept him grounded, preventing his mind from slipping off to darker thoughts. Loki always knew when to speak and exactly what to say. He understood all the science Tony spewed at him and responded in the same language, never once faltering. They even playfully flirted, throwing around teasing remarks and subtle innuendos. They had an easy sort of chemistry between them, they just clicked. 

Tony wasn't an idiot, however. He had noticed how Loki had been acting a little strange recently. He'd shuffle more, fiddle more, and his usually sexual quips had tuned down a little. He still acted exactly the same and Tony probably wouldn't have even noticed did he not pay attention to Loki so extensively.

He'd been more than a little worried when Loki didn't show up to the lab today. He always came down a little after they had lunch and stayed with him until supper. His absence concerned the engineer and after waiting a little over an hour after his usual time, Tony decided it was time to find him.

He walked the hall on the floor below his, straight towards Loki's room. He was a little unsure on what to say. Surely everything was fine and Loki was just in a bit of lazy mood today, right? It stressed him out that he couldn't know for sure, not until he saw the man.

Tony turned around at the sound of Loki's voice flowing out of Thor's room. He'd passed it a little ways back and made his way there. It sounded like they were talking about something important if Loki's tone earlier was anything to go by. Tony stood outside the door to listen for a bit, hatch out whether he should interrupt or let them be. If Loki was irritated, he'd most definitely be grateful for Tony getting him out of there. 

"Forget it, Thor. It's futile at the most. Why would he ever want anything to do with _me."_ Loki's voice was the least guarded Tony had ever heard it and fuck, that hurt. The usually playful trickster sounded so dejected and hurt that it made Tony's heart ache. 

"Don't say that, brother. He likes you. He enjoys your company." Loki's scoff at Thor's words rang clear. "You don't know, Loki. You do not see the way he looks at you." 

"Enough. I don't need this." Loki seemed to have rebuilt his walls at Thor's optimism. "I don't need false hope."

Tony hurt for Loki. Somehow the icy steel he'd injected into his words this time round betrayed his feelings more than the unguarded words earlier. Whoever they were talking about was so insanely lucky to have Loki's heart and they were an idiot for not realizing.

In a split second, Tony made a decision and burst into the room, startling the brothers seated on the bed. Loki's face looked worse than his voice sounded, the expressionless features showing Tony everything he needed to know. Thor looked devastated for his brother and a little surprised and worried when Tony came in.

"Let me help you, Loki." He stood before both of them, placing his hands on his hips and staring the trickster in the eyes. "Let me help you woo this guy. I am a master wooer, after all." 

Loki blinked. Thor burst out laughing, all worry from earlier vanishing as he choked on air and doubled over. Tony watched bemusedly as Loki gaped openly at him after sending Thor a nasty glare. "I do not need your help, Stark. Whatever you think you heard, forget it."

"Aw come on, Lokes don't be like that. I want to help you get with this guy. He's a fucking dumbass if he doesn't want you. I'll bet he just needs a little push." 

Something flashed across Loki's eyes too fast for Tony to comprehend. Thor's wheezing only got worse with every word Tony spoke and he was honestly starting to consider calling emergency services. Loki seemed to agree, dragging his incredulous gaze from Tony to slap his brother hard on the face. It only served to cause Thor's laughter to die down a little. 

"Oh, Stark. I believe you will be the perfect candidate to help Loki." The big guy finally sobered although he did giggle - he fucking giggled - every two words or so. Loki slapped him again, harder this time. 

"Shut up, Thor," Loki hissed. He levelled those green eyes on Tony then, losing the anger and settling on something closer to resignation. "I'm fine. There's nothing you can do to help, Tony." 

The use of his first name told Tony this was serious and he would be better off not pushing the matter but he couldn't see Loki like this. He refused to allow Loki's wound to fester without at least trying to help. 

"Please, Loki. Let me at least try and help you. I don't want to see you like this, babe." He tried, looking to the red faced Thor for support. Thor just put his thumbs up at Tony and nodded at Loki who rolled his eyes. 

"Allow him, brother. Spend time with Stark and woo him," came the blonde's response. He winked at Loki but Tony didn't understand it and just shook it off, accepting as Thor just being Thor 

"Yeah, Lokes. I can help you woo him. Please?" 

Loki looked between the two men, eyes lingering a little sadly on Tony and venomously on his brother. He finally sighed, giving up. "Fine. If anything goes even worse than it already is, I'll remind you both why many realms fear my wrath." 

Thor clapped his hands cheerfully, unbothered by Loki's threat. Tony gulped slightly in fear and nodded, mustering up a wide grin and copying Thor's earlier motion of a thumbs up. 

Oh god, he really hopes whoever Loki likes isn't an obtuse asshole. 

* * *

 

"What's his name?" 

"No." 

"Bitch, you're not Meghan Trainor. I just want to know the name of the guy I'm helping you hook up with." Tony was very nearly whining. 

They had been at this for ten minutes now. Loki came down to the lab with him after lunch that day and submitted himself to Tony's tests. The genius had him stand perfectly still under a light to scan his body. Tony wanted to learn alien physiology. He also wanted to learn the name of the man said alien is so smitten with. 

"Who? And, once again Stark, no." Loki looked like he wanted to cross his arms in petty defiance but held himself back. He knew this experiment meant a lot to Tony. 

"Just some singer. Why won't you tell me his name? It's not like I'll find out everything about him just from you giving me his first name." At Loki's raised eyebrow, Tony sighed. "Okay fine. I see why you won't give me his name."

"Scan complete, sir. Analyzing systems now," came JARVIS' voice from the ceiling. Tony motioned for Loki to step out of the light. He complied and moved to stand beside Tony, seeing the results. 

"So, this is your physiology," Tony said, pulling up the scan results and displaying it in front to them. He pulled up another, "And this is a human's." 

"It's not that different," Loki said, squinting slightly as he took in the holograms before him. Tony couldn't help but think he looked adorable. 

"Yeah. But look; your body temperature is so much lower than a human's. Loki, holy hell, it's like your insides are made of ice." Tony was in awe at the discovery. He enthusiastically ran calculations trying to figure out just how many degrees lower Loki's temperature was." Can I have a blood sample. I wa-"

He cut himself off as he turned to face Loki. The god's face looked to be carved from stone, guarded and cold. His eyes betrayed nothing, looking at a point above Tony's head. Tony couldn't read him for the life of him right now. "Lokes? What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," Loki lied. He finally met Tony's eyes and flashed him a smile dripping with saccharine. He stretched his arm towards Tony. "Here." 

Tony stared at the trickster a little longer, hating that smile, hating that he knew it was hiding pain. Loki only ever smiled like that when something truly hurt him. Tony gave a resigned sigh, knowing if Loki didn't want to talk about it there wasn't much he could do. 

Instead, he took Loki's outstretched arm and lead him towards a table, motioning for him to sit. Tony prepared the needle to take Loki's blood as he made himself comfortable on the table. Tony repositioned himself to allow easier access and took Loki's arm again, giving him an apologetic smile as a warning before carefully inserting the needle into his skin. He felt Loki stiffen slightly and tried to make quick work of pulling the needle back out again. 

He cleaned the spot with rubbing alcohol when he was done and stroked his thumb over it, silently reassuring Loki. He turned a little to face the man and only then realized he was standing in between his legs. Their faces were so close, Tony just had to move an inch to connect their lips. 

_No, Tony. Stop. He likes someone else. Not you._

Tony awkwardly cleared his throat and took the blood sample to his microscope for testing. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Loki still sat on the table, looking at him. He turned away, shrugging it off and returning to his work. 

They spent the rest of the day with Tony analyzing Loki's scan and blood sample while Loki tinkered on something a little ways from him. They were stopped when Natasha called them up for dinner over the coms. On the elevator upstairs, Tony realised something. 

"Hey! We never got to plan how to woo your guy," Tony said, turning to face Loki and hoping his eyes didn't betray how he felt. He himself wasn't quite sure how he felt. 

"Ah well, some other time," Loki said. He wouldn't meet Tony's gaze, choosing instead to stare straight at the door. "It's not important anyway, Stark. I already told you he doesn't not like me."

"And I already told you he's a dumbass if he doesn't." Tony rolled his eyes at Loki's absurdness. Couldn't he see he was perfect? "There's nothing not to like about you, Loki." Tony had never meant anything more in his life. 

Loki simply rolled his eyes and continued staring at the wall though Tony noticed a sardonic smile ghosting his lips. He chose not to mention it and stepped off the elevator with Loki behind him. 

They sat down for dinner together, Tony animatedly answering Bruce's question on their experiments and Loki carefully avoiding Thor's eyes. The only time Loki spoke up during dinner was to answer another one of Bruce's questions and to ask Steve to pass the potatoes. 

Tony tried not to think about it too much and instead focused on his food and planning Loki's date with the guy he liked. He didn't understand the spark of _something_ he felt in his chest at the thought and just chose to ignore if, writing it off as some arc reactor thing. 

Tomorrow, he'd help Loki plan the perfect first date to woo whoever the hell this lucky bastard was. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

"Absolutely not."

"Oh come on, Loki. It's a good idea and you know it." Tony had suggested he ask his mystery man to dinner. There was an Italian restaurant nearby that Tony and Loki loved getting take out from. The restaurant is in reality a fine dining place but when Tony Stark insistently calls for delivery, you deliver.

"No, it's not," Loki repeated for the third time. He gave a sad little smile then. "It's not like he'd say yes anyway."

Tony was a little startled at the way he felt a rush of relief. He quickly pushed it away. "You don't know that. He could be desperately wanting you to ask him out. You could be hurting him as much as he's hurting you."

"Somehow I truly doubt that," Loki said with a sardonic smile. "He seems rather happy with things the way they are right now."

"The keyword there is 'seems'," Tony pointed out. "You seem happy all the time but I know you're not."

Loki looked stunned at Tony's observation. He didn't know that Tony paid more attention to him than he did most of his projects these days. Loki was just much more attractive with his posh accent and silky hair and impossibly green eyes. The way he held himself, the way he moved all had Tony craving more.

Loki was much more interesting what with his theories and fascination with science, always ready to learn more from Tony and the way he never hesitated to give his opinion. If Tony was lucky, Loki sometimes told him stories of his youth growing up in Asgard, playing in the fields with Thor; he'd even spoken to Tony about how he felt when Thor met Sif and the warriors three, how they'd always hated him and left him out of everything.

He told Tony how the citizens of Asgard had discriminated against him, treating him like scum on the ground for nothing more than showing passion in magic. They claimed it was a womanly art and they judged him harshly for his interests, never mind the fact that they were all well aware Loki was among, if not the most powerful mage in the Nine Realms.

Tony had wanted to fly up there and nuke the place for how they treated his best friend, how they made him feel inferior to them when he was much more. They were nothing compared to him and it pained Tony that Loki couldn't see that, didn't believe that.

"Even if he wanted to," Loki started, "he is very busy. He most probably would not be able to make it."

"Try." Part of Tony really didn't want to encourage this, didn't want Loki with someone else. "He can make time for you, you're worth it." A bigger part of him just wanted Loki happy and if this guy was what did it then who was Tony to keep him from it.

Loki kept his face carefully composed, not betraying a single emotion. "I wouldn't know what to do on a date, Anthony. I haven't courted someone in centuries, no one was worth my time. I do not have the slightest idea how to act or acceptable topics of conversation. I'd be as useless as Thor."

"You know I don't either but from what I've learned from movies, talk about your mutual interests," Tony suggested. "Ask about his day, tell him about yours, talk about your favourite things, I guess. Tell funny stories and laugh at his shitty jokes. Does he make shitty jokes?"

"The absolute worst." Loki's face lit up slightly, a fond smile ghosting his lips. Tony's own smile became a little more forced. "He thinks he's hilarious. The only thing funny about his jokes is how bad they are."

"Great. Laugh at how bad they are. If things get awkward, eat."

Loki laughed softly at the advice, the kind of rare laugh that Tony always tried to pull out of him. Loki smiled and nodded, accepting the terrible advice. "Alright, I'll ask him."

Tony whooped, smiling and clapping Loki on the back. He jumped up off Loki's bed and grabbed the god's hand, pulling him up as well. "This calls for celebratory science. What say you and I go down to the lab and you let me scan you again."

"How is it that you make that sound crude," Loki said, eyeing him incredulously.

"It's a gift." Tony couldn't resist winking at Loki. "Now come on, please."

Loki simply rolled his eyes and sighed, walking towards the door with his hand still in Tony's. Not that Tony was very aware of that or anything.

 

 

* * *

 

"I asked him," Loki said as he walked out of the elevator in Tony's lab. The sudden voice very nearly gave him a heart attack and he was little disturbed that JARVIS didn't warn him of Loki's arrival. It proved that the AI believed Loki's presence is something Tony wasn't worried by. "He said yes."

"That's great, Lokes," Tony said. He repressed his own feelings and focused on Loki. "The Italian place?"

Loki nodded. He moved to take a seat on his usual chair beside Tony's work desk. He usually sat there as Tony worked, soldering metals and fixing the Iron Man suit. He'd ask questions if he didn't understand but also be quick to correct Tony if he thought the engineer was doing something wrong.

"I was wondering if you'd come?" Loki spoke up a little hesitantly. "Just as support. You could sit a few tables away, maybe follow the captain's ridiculous disguise ideas."

"Yes. Yeah, definitely." Tony grinned widely at him. "Of course I'll be there. I would have come even if you didn't ask."

Loki matched Tony's grin at the words. "We planned on 7 this evening. Is that alright with you?"

Tony nodded, still smiling. "I'm not wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses, though. Fuck that. I'm wearing a suit and so are you. What time is it, J?"

"It is 5.55pm, sir," the AI responded without missing a beat. "Might I suggest getting dressed now if you wish to make it on time."

"Right." Tony looked at Loki and stuck his hand out. "Come on, I want to show you the suit. You'd look drop dead gorgeous in it, I can already see."

Loki shook his head in amusement and put his slim hand in Tony's calloused one, allowing the man to pull him off the chair. "Shower first, Anthony. Then show me the suit."

Tony tried to protest but one look at himself had him shutting his mouth again. He was covered in machine grease and oil. He could even feel some on his face and was willing to bet there was grease in his hair too. Maybe he picked the wrong day to fix his car. Loki saw as he came to that conclusion and smiled, tugging Tony towards himself. He waved his hand and Tony felt his face clear of the grease.

"Let's go," said Loki as he removed his hand from Tony's to walk to the elevator. Tony followed behind him and up they went. The elevator stopped first on Loki's floor and the god stepped off, informing Tony that he would like a shower as well.

"Yeah sure. I'll have U bring the suit to you," Tony said. Loki hummed in acknowledgment and turned away towards his room. Tony tried not to stare at his ass while he waited for the door to close. 

Once he entered his own room, he made a beeline for the shower. He showered quickly but thoroughly, ensuring his hair was washed and the smell of machine grease no longer radiated off of him. Tony exited the shower in 20 minutes smelling of the lemon scented soap Pepper had bought him and hurried to his closet, looking for the suit he'd told Loki about. "JARVIS the suit is in here right?"

"The furthest to your right, sir."

"Thanks, J." The suit was exactly where the AI said it was. Tony carefully handed it to U who JARVIS had sent up while he was in the shower. "Be careful with this, U. Go give it to Loki."

The robot made a whirring sound that Tony hoped was an "I swear". The robot retreated to the elevator as Tony dug around in the closet looking for something for himself. He was looking for his favourite casual suit. "Middle, sir," JARVIS informed him.

"What would I do without you, JARVIS," Tony said as he pulled the suit out and spread it out on his bed. It had a gray jacket with matching pants and a white dress shirt. He quickly toweled himself off and checked the time. 6.20pm. If they wanted to get there by 7pm they had to leave the tower by 6.40 at the latest.

Tony hurriedly pulled the suit on. He left the top button of his dress shirt unbuttoned and didn't bother with a tie. Tony picked out a pair of fancy black shoes that would go well with the suit and pulled them on. He draped his jacket over his left arm and sprayed himself with some of the cologne he knew Loki liked. Looking in the mirror, he styled his hair as casually as possible and gave himself a once over. Once satisfied with his appearance, he strolled into the elevator to see Loki. Tony was admittedly a little excited to see Loki in one of his suits, knowing the god would look like all of his wildest fantasies. Except Tony wouldn't be allowed to pull the clothes off of him.

He mentally prepared himself to see Loki as he knocked on his door. The door swung open and Tony's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Loki. He looked amazing the black suit jacket hugging his slim waist perfectly with the pants showing off those endless legs of his. He must have used magic to fit it properly seeing as it was Tony's suit. Loki's hair was down as usual but looked different somehow and oh fuck, he smelled heavenly. The black of his suit brought out the green of his eyes and Tony found he couldn't look away as Loki stared right back at him.

Loki brought him back to reality by clearing his throat and stepping back to allow Tony to enter the room. Tony followed him into the room and spoke for the first time since coming down here. "You look amazing, Loki. Like really, really good."

"You don't look too bad yourself Anthony," Loki said. Tony noticed the slight red colour dusting Loki's cheeks and ached to pull him into a kiss but quickly banished the thought back to wherever it had come from. Loki was literally getting dressed for his date with another man right now, for fuck's sake. 

Tony smirked playfully at Loki and took the jacket off his arm to pull it on and button it. "You ready to go?"

Loki nodded and Tony moved towards his bed to get Loki's jacket. He picked it up and walked back to Loki, motioning for him to turn around. He complied and Tony held out the jacket for Loki to slip his arms through. Once it was on, Tony stepped in front of Loki again and placed his hands on the collar of the jacket, smoothing it down and buttoning it for him. He looked up from the button to see Loki staring at him with clouded eyes darting to Tony's lips for a split second, so fast Tony almost missed it. Tony's own mind started hazing but he shook it off and pulled away from Loki.

"Let's go then," Tony said as he stepped away. 

Loki followed him and together they walked back to the elevator for Loki's date with the mystery man.

 

* * *

 

 An hour and 10 minutes.

They'd been here for an hour and 10 minutes and Loki's mystery man has yet to arrive. Traffic had delayed them a little on the way over here and they'd arrived at 7.10pm instead of the designated 7pm. Not that the asshole seemed to care. Tony was on the verge of bursting with anger. He was so ready to get into the suit and beat up this man whose name he didn't even know.

The thing that truly worried Tony though was that Loki looked unconcerned, as though he'd expected this. He'd just been staring out the window and occasionally sipping on his lemon tea with an air of serenity around him. He'd refused to get any food even though this was his favourite restaurant, saying that he'd wait for his date. Tony hadn't gotten anything either. He sat three tables away from Loki and sipped on his cappuccino.

"Oh fuck it," Tony mumbled under his breath. Tony got up and carried his drink over to Loki's table, plopping himself down ungracefully opposite him. Loki uncharacteristically choked on a sip of his tea at Tony's presence. "Sorry."

Loki made a hand motion to dismiss it. "Why are you here?" He asked once he'd stopped coughing.

"Your date is a fucking asshole and I don't get why you like him," Tony said simply. Loki opened his mouth to protest but Tony shushed him by continuing to speak. "I'm hungry and so are you. This is _our_ favourite restaurant and we're dressed like a million bucks. Have dinner with me, Loki."

Loki stared at him in astonishment for a few moments before a bright grin spread across his face. "Well let's order then, shall we?"

Tony returned the grin and waved over the waiter. They didn't even need to glance at the menu having already ordered from here a million times. Their waiter scribbled down their usual orders and left back to the kitchen, leaving them alone again. Loki had gone back to staring out the window while Tony gave their orders but this time he had a small smile ghosting on his lips. Tony took advantage of Loki's distraction to take the god in. He was truly gorgeous, easily putting anyone else to shame. His eyelashes were so long they swept across his cheekbones. His eyes were hidden from view but Tony could still make out their striking green that always danced with mischief and betrayed his emotions.

Loki turned back to him and smiled wider, having caught him staring. "See something you like, Anthony?" 

"Oh babe, you know I do."

Loki chuckled and took another sip of his tea to hide the blush making its way up his cheeks. Tony vowed to do anything possible to make Loki blush like that again. He copied Loki's motions and took a sip of his own drink. They settled into easy conversation while waiting for their food. Loki had asked what he was working on earlier, before Loki came to the lab. Tony eagerly responded knowing that Loki would understand what he was saying and if he didn't he'd ask. Most people liked to pretend they understood but Tony had learned early on that Loki wan't most people.

"And what were you doing all day?" Tony asked. "You didn't come down for science stuff."

"I was with Thor. Darcy told him about some thing called Disney and he made it a mission to look it up when she said he wasn't worthy of Jane if he didn't know," Loki explained with an exaggerated eye roll. Tony was in hysterics at the mental image of Thor hunched over a laptop simultaneously trying to figure out google and looking up classic Disney movies. He got some dirty stares from the other diners but ignored them, much rather focusing on Loki's fond head shake.

He sobered up when their waiter arrived with the food. Tony let out a moan at the smell causing Loki to roll his eyes again. This was routine by now. They dug in to their food, conversation temporarily halted. Tony and Loki ate in comfortable silence with the ease of people who knew each other well, people who went well together. The rest of their dinner was filled with conversation and a lot of Tony choking on his spaghetti at Loki's witty remarks, just like they did every Saturday night. They got into a heated debate on whether science was just a lower standard of magic that ended with Loki shoving his dessert into Tony's mouth to shut him up. 

"Think about it, Anthony. You created a whole new element. JARVIS and all the other robots are very nearly sentient beings. That is magic. Science is very much magic." Loki said in explanation as Tony tried to keep the cupcake from falling out his mouth. Tony carefully chewed a whole cupcake, contemplating Loki's words and nodding once he'd decided he agreed just a little.

Tony swallowed the cake with the help of his coffee. "Okay fine. I see your point but I don't 100% agree. Maybe like 45%"

Loki seemed satisfied enough with that answer. He picked up his napkin and leaned forward to help Tony clean his mouth, wiping the napkin softly around Tony's chocolate covered lips. Tony couldn't do anything but stare at him longingly. But then Loki stole his dessert and Tony was put into action again, them fighting over the cake.

"You ate mine!"

"You shoved it into my mouth!"

"You still ate it, though."

"Loki, what the fuck was I supposed to do? Spit it out?"

Later that night, Tony laid in bed staring at the ceiling. At some point in the night he had come to terms with the feelings he'd been dancing around for the past couple of months. Tony chided himself for not realizing his feelings for Loki sooner. Now Loki had someone he was interested in, someone who Loki seemed to really care about. Maybe if Tony had attained his realization sooner, he could have been with Loki. Maybe he could have been the one Loki planned dates for.

Maybe he could have been the one Loki had fallen for.


	3. Chapter 3

"He called me last night."

"The asshole?" Tony asked from where he was working out a bug in Dum-E. 

"He is a nice guy, Anthony." Loki sighed as he came to lean on the table.

"Yeah sure," Tony snorted. "A nice guy that stands you up. Seriously, who the fuck would stand _you_ up."

"He was busy," Loki said. "A last minute project called for his attention at work. I do not hold it against him for not showing up. It is the sensible decision."

"He couldn't at least fucking call?" Tony was mad. "It's not that hard to just pick up the phone and text you."

"Why are you getting so upset about this?"

"I'm not." Tony refused to meet Loki's eyes, knowing it would be able to pull the truth out of him.

Loki sighed again and Tony could feel him shake his head. "He has invited me out again."

His heart was not sinking. It was not. "Oh. Where?"

"He left it up to me and I'm asking you." Loki put a hand on Tony's shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face him. "Where would you like to go?"

Tony contemplated. He really didn't want Loki going out with this guy but at the same time he looks happiest when he's talking about him. Yeah, Tony fucking hated that Loki chose to give his heart away to someone that wasn't worth it, but Tony didn't actually know him. He wasn't the one that spent hours a day with the man. Who was he to hold Loki back?

"Ice skating." Tony said. "Is your guy good at that? Find out. You should go ice skating."

"Why ice skating?" Loki was confused and Tony tried not to find it adorable. The way he scrunched up his nose swelled Tony's heart and he had to fight off the almost natural instinct to kiss it.

"Think about it." Tony did not want to think about it. "If he's bad, you get to hold him and guide him. If he's good, you can skate side by side like in a shitty romance movie and hold hands."

Loki looked at Dum-E thoughtfully, running the idea through that intelligent mind of his. "Are you any good at ice skating?"

"Me?" Tony laughed. "Lokes, have you met me? I stumble over air sometimes. No I can't ice skate."

Loki got a wicked grin on his face that made Tony fear for his life a little. That sparkle in his eye never led to anything good. "No, Loki, no. Whatever you're thinking, absolutely not. I like my life, thank you very much."

His grin only got wider. "But my dear Anthony, who will help ensure my date goes well? You need to be there."

"I can watch from the glass around the rink," Tony suggested, even though the mere idea of Loki looking at someone else with love in his eyes was enough to make him taste his lunch again. "I don't need to be on the ice."

"Of course you do," Loki said. 

"Oh really? Why?"

"Because it would be quite entertaining to watch you slide around," Loki said innocently.

"You know what, maybe you and this guy _should_ date. You're both assholes."

Loki laughed and moved past Tony, walking so close he caught a whiff of the scent that was so uniquely Loki it made him want to scream. The god squatted down beside Dum-E, looking the robot over and figuring out what the problem was almost instantly. He gestured for Tony to pass him the wrench and he did, watching in apt fascination as Loki twisted some screws that Tony hadn't even considered were the problem.

"Try it now," Loki said, standing up and standing beside Tony.

"JARVIS, power Dum-E up please."

"Yes sir." The robot lit up and started whirring around. The problem had been that his arm kept locking but Loki had solved it. Tony had been looking deeper into the problem, not bothering to properly notice that the problem lay on the surface.

"I fixed him," Loki pointed out the obvious. "Now, as you say, Stark you owe me."

"Fine, you dick," Tony sighed, trying to quell his happiness. It's not like Loki was asking him on a date. "I'll go on the ice. But you better be ready to ditch that asshole to save me when I need you."

"Always."

 

* * *

 

 The first thing Tony registered was the cold.

It was freezing down here at the rink but it didn't seem to bother Elsa at all. The god was getting a new pair of skates - his were too small - and had left Tony alone to stare witheringly at the rink and curse the chill. He was scared of going on the ice, he was man enough to admit that. Like any other normal person, Tony had a dislike for falling on his ass. Not that Loki seemed to care what Tony wanted.

"These should fit better I hope," Loki said. He sat next to Tony and leaned down to tie his shoes. Tony hummed in acknowledgement and continued staring at the rink. He watched as a woman fell flat on her face.

"You see, Loki," Tony whined, pulling on his arm. "I don't want that to happen to me."

Loki looked up to see the woman attempt to stand only to fall again. "That won't happen to you, Anthony."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you have me," Loki said, straightening up. "I won't let you fall."

 _A little too late for that_. "Yeah, yeah," Tony said, ignoring the voice in his head. "You say that now but when your guy shows up, you'll be all over him and I'll be dead."

"Actually," Loki started, "he won't be joining us."

"What?" Tony stomped on the spark of happiness that filled his chest, replacing it with anger. "Something important come up again?"

"Yes, actually. A business thing. He didn't specify."

"God, Loki," Tony sighed, his anger giving way to resignation. "Why do you let him do this to you? Why do you let him hurt you?"

Loki smiled sardonically and stood up, brushing off Tony's concern. He stuck a hand out for Tony. The engineer stared at Loki for a minute before taking it, allowing Loki to pull him up. Tony immediately stumbled, not able to balance on the blades, but Loki was faster. He wrapped an arm around Tony's waist to hold him steady, Tony's left hand gripping his shoulder while the right stayed holding Loki's.

Loki led the way to the rink, his hold on Tony's waist never faltering though they'd had to let go of their hands to walk. Tony watched as Loki expertly stepped onto the ice, making it look effortless. Then it was Tony's turn and Loki stood opposite him, taking his hand off Tony's waist to grab both his hands. "Come on, Anthony. It's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say," Tony said, squeezing the life out of Loki's hands. "You make everything look perfect,"

Loki laughed and encouraged him to step on to the ice. With a look to the sky, Tony finally stepped on, holding Loki's hand tighter. It wasn't that bad once he'd found his center of gravity. They stood near the railings for a minute, allowing Tony to gain more confidence before Loki started moving. "Hey hey, what are you doing don't do that," Tony panicked and started losing his balance.

Loki rushed to wrap his arms around Tony's waist to prevent him from falling. Tony's arms pulled Loki down as the engineer flailed frantically, so close that Loki had to rest his chin on his shoulder. "Calm down, Tony," Loki mumbled in his ear. "I'm here, you're not going to fall."

Tony greedily soaked up the feeling of Loki pressed against him and the shivers that ran up his spine at the sound of Loki's voice so low and close to him. He could really get used to feeling like this. Tony nodded against where his face was buried in Loki's shoulder. "Okay, okay, let's go," he mumbled, feeling Loki shiver.

This time Loki stood beside him, keeping an arm wrapped around his waist. He moved slowly, leading the way and helping Tony keep his balance.

"Slowly, Tony,"

"I am slow."

"Then slower. I don't know why, but it works"

"What the fuck, Loki. How are you such a good skater if you don't even really know what you're doing?"

Loki shrugged and Tony had to tighten his grip, afraid to fall from the movement. "When we were little, Thor and I found a lake that was always frozen, deep in the forests of Asgard. We spent centuries sneaking off to ice skate and eventually got good at it."

"That's adorable," Tony cooed, letting Loki pull him along by the hands as they glided on the ice. "I can picture a little kid Loki and Thor running away to ice skate."

Loki didn't comment but Tony noticed the way his lip twitched slightly in a nostalgic smile. The immortal had started skating backwards, hands outstretched and pulling Tony along, facing him. Tony tried very hard to keep himself from accidentally crashing his face on Loki's.

They ended up staying in the rink for a little over two hours. It involved a lot of Tony flailing and swinging his arms around and Loki holding onto him and laughing, assuring him he'd be fine. Loki looked gorgeous with his hair slightly messy, his laughs genuine and amused. One of those rare laughs.

Most of the time was spent with Loki's arm wrapped tight around Tony's waist, always gripping him and moving instantly at even the suggestion of Tony falling. One memory that would be replaying in Tony's head for weeks to come was when he had slid forward and started falling back. He was so sure that he would feel the impact of cold ice on the back of his head and braced himself but it never came. 

Instead, he'd had Loki holding him around the waist, bent backwards a little with their faces mere inches apart. It was one of those poses from shitty romance movies that always led to makeout sessions. Tony wished that happened in real life too but reality is much crueler. 

Loki had pulled them standing upright within a matter of seconds but Tony had caught the way those green eyes flicked to his lips. Tony kept his arms around Loki's neck though, and leaned his forehead on the tall god's shoulder in the pretense of slight shock. Loki rubbed Tony's back soothingly, mumbling something in a language he didn't understand but instantly had him feeling better. 

After they'd had their fill of skating - nearly dying for Tony - he'd offered to buy Loki lunch, if only for another hour with him so he could pretend this was a date. Loki'd agreed and upon finding out that he'd never tried pizza, Tony grabbed his cool hand and dragged him to the closest pizza joint. New York's best - cheesy, thin, and way too greasy. 

"Stark, this thing is dripping with grease," Loki complained, holding the slice between two fingers and staring at it in disgust.

"So are you but you don't see me complaining."

That comment had earned him a sharp kick to his shin under the table. Loki smirked victoriously at the shriek he emitted and took a bite of the greasy pizza. Tony had to split his attention between rubbing his bruising shin and starring at the way Loki had adorably scrunched up his nose at the taste and was now working on getting the stringy cheese to break. It shouldn't have been so sexy to watch someone struggle with cheese but Tony was only human and found everything about him incredibly sexy. 

Lunch passed way too quick for Tony's taste, with too little conversation. The only bright side was that he'd gotten to watch all the hilariously adorable expressions Loki made while eating pizza. Loki's lips wrapping around the straw of Tony's soda as he took a sip was criminally attractive. A lot of willpower was needed to stop him from just attacking those sinful lips already. 

Once they'd gotten back to the tower, Loki excused himself, saying something about needing to speak with Thor. Tony watched the retreating figure before heading up to his own room, feeling more in the mood for laying pitifully on his bed than anything else. These days, the lab made him think of Loki and playing his classic rock wasn't an option since it'd just serve as a reminder of the god's absence. Loki hated his music and had threatened to not come down unless he'd switched to something better so Tony had opted for classical stuff. He'd never admit that he'd grown to like the stuff.

Laying on the bed was dangerous though, and Tony soon found himself craving for Loki to be beside him. He wasn't even sure when his affection for the trickster had grown to such heights. It had always been there but it hid itself as plain attraction and lust not this overwhelming love laying deep in his chest. It ached knowing that Loki was already so taken with a man that wouldn't give him the time of day. Maybe it wouldn't be so insane to just kiss him, let him know how Tony felt. 

Maybe, over time and with a lot of hard work and plain luck, Loki would feel the same too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short. There's a lot going on right now with school and stuff but I wanted to post something anyway. So you guys get a steaming pile of idiot Tony and smooth Loki


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE END. DA DA DA DAHHHH

"Stay still."

"I'm not moving," Loki said, shifting.

"You literally just did. Stay still."

"My nose itches, Anthony."

Tony sighed. This was hopeless.

Loki had been in his lab for near an hour now and they hadn't gotten anything done yet. The first forty minutes were spent explaining the experiment Tony wanted to conduct to Loki, showing him examples and then just discussing it once he'd agreed. Loki seemed to have completely ignored the part where he wasn't supposed to move during the scan.

Tony walked towards the god under blue lights until he was just inches away from him. He reached out in a moment of riskiness and scratched Loki's nose with his index finger, watching as his eyes widened in surprise at Tony's actions. "What are you doing?"

"Your nose itches," Tony said in a matter of fact tone, absently wondering if those would be his last words. 

Loki just stared in adorable bewilderment, not stopping Tony. For once, the silvertongue was at a loss for words.

"Get your finger off my nose." Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Tony smiled sheepishly and took a step back. "Now you can stop moving," he said in fake confidence.

Loki just sighed and stood still, complying to Tony's instructions for once. The inventor went back behind the screen displaying the readings, learning everything he could about Loki's magic and it's sources. It was incredibly fascinating, yet majorly confusing.

"Come here, Lokes," he called, shutting off the scan once it was complete and stepping aside to give him room.

Once Loki stood beside him, his silk clothes brushing Tony's arms that he tried very hard not to focus on, he pointed at the hologram of Loki's body. "See that? How does that work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where is the magic coming from?" Tony pointed at the lit up points on the hologram. "These show the strongest points of magic in you, but see, it also seems to be drifting around you." 

Loki studied the light around the hologram of his body. "There's a tree called Yggdrasil - the tree of life. It's branches can be used to transport a mage anywhere in all the nine realms. It is also the biggest source of magic in all the realms. Mages draw their power from it. The deeper your connection, the higher the amount of it around you."

"But you said your magic comes from you."

"It does," Loki nodded. "A rare few contain seidr inside themselves and are born with the ability to use it. I am one of them. That means I don't have to use Yggdrasil for magic; it is all my own."

Tony was confused. "But then what's up with this Yeg-Yag-whatever light around you?"

Loki smiled as though Tony was a child he was especially fond of. "That Stark, is because I use her branches for transportation. How do you think teleportation works? I have been exploring her since I was a child, it's no surprise that parts of her have attached itself to me."

The explanation served to intrigue Tony even more, creating even more questions that he craved the answers to. Loki allowed it, answering all his questions with patience and simple terms to aid Tony's 'mortal brain' as he'd called it. It may have been condescending, but Loki said it in a term that made it sound almost fond.

Hours were spent down there, Tony learning everything Loki allowed him to. They were forced to stop at Natasha's call for dinner and they went up together, Tony not stopping his interrogation even as they took a seat at the dinner table. Bruce was immediately drawn in, asking questions of his own that Loki answered as well.

"Okay, that's enough," Steve said, carrying a dish of stir fry to the table. "It's dinner, let's have conversations everyone understands. I'm pretty sure Loki is exhausted."

"Thank you, captain," Loki said with a look to Tony.

Tony huffed even though he knew Loki was just teasing, and turned to Steve, motioning for him to pile the food on. They ate in relative silence until Thor decided to break it, looking at Loki with an uncharacteristically mischievous smirk.

"So brother," he started between bites of chicken, "how is it going with the man you are besotted with?"

"Shut up, Thor," Loki hissed, eyes promising murder. Natasha and Clint let out loud laughs at him, Bruce smiling to himself, and Steve just looked amused though he tried to hide it.

"Oh come on, Loki," Clint said, laughing. "He likes you too, it's obvious."

"Wait, wait," Tony beat Loki to responding. "You all know who he likes? Even Steve?"

"It's not exactly hard to figure out, Tony," Steve said. 

"You're just a dumbass," Clint laughed.

"You realize I'm smarter than all of you - except Bruce - combined, right?"

"You're an idiot where it matters," Natasha pointed out.

"You truly are, son of Stark." This was Thor. "It is quite painful how oblivious to -"

Tony never found out what he was so oblivious to since Loki had decided on using his magic to mute everyone's voices. Wide eyes could be seen all around the table, except Bruce who had been spared thanks to his silence. The scientist had elected to ignore them and pretend he was eating a normal dinner with normal people. Tony couldn't blame him.

"Um, what?" Tony said unintelligently, looking at Loki.

"They are annoying," Loki shrugged, taking a small bite of his dinner.

Tony didn't really know what else to do and just went along with it, imitating Loki's previous action and continuing his dinner with small talk between himself, Loki, and Bruce. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering though, and soon found himself trying desperately to figure out just who it was. If everyone knew, then why didn't he? They all knew the same people.

A small voice in Tony's mind whispered the answer, but Tony shrugged it off, knowing it was nothing but his own wishful thinking. It couldn't possibly be him.

 

* * *

 

"You're kidding."

"I'm serious."

"Why?" Tony whined. "Why would you do this again, Loki? You already gave him two chances."

"And now I'm giving him a third," Loki said. "He wants to apologize. Something about a fair?"

"Loki," Tony sighed, "he doesn't deserve more chances."

"I think he does." Loki walked closer to him, standing right in front of Tony. "Last time, I mean it. Come to the fair with me. If he shows up or not is another matter completely."

"Fine." Tony knew there was no point arguing with Loki when he set his mind to something. The smile he got in return was worth it, again making Tony's fingers itch to trace it. "When?"

"Tonight," Loki said, mouth still in it's rare bright smile. "Two hours to be exact."

"Well then, let's waste it in here. Tell me more about that super magic tree thing."

"Ask your questions."

An hour and a half was spent with Tony learning as much as he possibly could from Loki. He also spent the time staring at the man, almost trying to commit the laughs and figure before him to memory in fear of it being lost to him. 

Loki went up to his room to get dressed and Tony did the same, purposely delaying himself. He didn't want Loki meeting with this man that just keeps on hurting him and he especially didn't want Loki leaving him. It was selfish, he knew, but he was the one in love with Loki, not this man. If Loki had been asking _him_ on dates, Tony would have put off the end of the world for it.

"Sir, Mr Odinson requests you be down soon," JARVIS said, startling him out of his thoughts. 

"Five minutes, Mom," he responded.

Tony looked himself over. His hair was messily styled and he wore a classic plain black t shirt with jeans. Tony sprayed on some cologne and got into the elevator, part of him excited and another part dreading it.

"Are you ready, princess?" Loki asked teasingly once he stepped off. "You took long enough."

"Got to look the best for my prince," Tony teased right back. Loki smiled and looked away, eyes flashing slightly.

They got there almost thirty minutes later than Loki had promised his mystery man. Tony tried to hide his smug smile but knew Loki saw it from the look he was shot. He faked innocence at the glare, smiling sweetly at him. Tony looked around, taking in the deafening noise and stinking smell typical of fairs.

"So where is he?" Tony asked, looking at the prince.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I will ask if he gets here."

"If?"

"If." 

"Well in that case, I'm showing you around first."

Tony wrapped his fingers around Loki's wrist, dragging him to a churro stall for the prince's first taste of fair food. Loki was confused at first but he appeared to like the taste of it, finishing it off and taking a bite of Tony's. He laughed off Tony's protest and ignored the slap on his arm, stealing another bite.

"What is that thing?" Loki pointed, eyes glinting.

"That, Lokes," Tony answered, "is a ferris wheel."

"I want to go on it," Loki said in a demanding tone.

"Sure," Tony agreed. "But not now. We'll go later once it's darker out. The view will be even better then."

"Alright." Loki looked like wanted to argue but held back, seeing the logic in Tony's words.

Yelling from a distance away caught Loki's attention and he watched as a roller coaster flew by, bringing the screaming passengers closer. Loki watched in doe like fascination at the speeding machine, completely oblivious to Tony staring at him with infatuation. It was too easy to fall for him when he looked like this, when he let his guard down and let himself free.

That was Tony's favourite part of all these 'dates'. Loki got comfortable enough around him to be himself, unafraid of the judgement he'd gotten so used to in his long life. In that moment, Tony made a decision, lacing his fingers with Loki's and stealing his attention from the now far away roller coaster. The piercing green eyes landed on him now, staring with an intensity he didn't quite understand but felt himself.

"Are you guys going to buy anything or keep standing there?" The churro stall owner said, breaking them out of the spell.

"Oh, um," Tony stuttered, "no, we're leaving."

He awkwardly walked away, Loki's cool fingers still intertwined with his. "Where are we going?"

"To the roller coaster!"

"The what?" Loki asked, adorably confused.

"That thing you were staring at," he explained.

"With the screaming mortals?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Alright." Loki allowed himself to be tugged along to the long line. They waited almost twenty minutes, Tony spending the time pointing out rides he wanted Loki to try later, hands never once leaving the other's.

Finally it was their turn. They sat in the front row, Tony leaning unnecessarily close to help Loki buckle up. The ride started with a call from the teenager working there and Loki sent him a manic grin that Tony found impossible not to return.

They were both _acquainted_ to the feeling of falling from great heights so maybe the ride wasn't the best idea, but the traumatic memories were forgotten with adrenaline and love coursing through Tony's veins. Loki kept his hand in Tony's the entire time, laughing along with him at the screaming people, tightening his hold during the steep drop.

Next stop was the typical games. Tony stopped them at the cliched 'toss the ring', promising Loki a gift.

"Which one do you want?"

Loki gave him a condescending stare before sighing and turning to look at the stuffed toys. Tony watched as his eyes lit up and his lips twisted into a mischievous smirk. He followed Loki's gaze to stare in horror at a life sized Iron Man stuffed toy.

"I want that, Anthony," Loki said, eyes dancing.

"Oh, you asshole," Tony huffed. "Fine. I'm going to work extra hard to make sure you get that. You have to keep it with you forever."

"Done."

"You need 500 tickets for that, sir," the man behind the counter said, staring between them in awe.

"How many tosses is that?"

"50."

"Great," Tony said, rubbing his hands together. "Get me the rings."

By the fifth failed toss, Tony was frustrated and Loki was smiling in wicked amusement. By the twentieth, Tony was _this_ close to screaming and Loki's breathless laughing was not helping. He loved the man, but fuck if he didn't want to strangle him.

"Shut the fuck up Loki, oh my god, I can do this okay."

"Of course you can darling," Loki said in that teasing voice of his. "Maybe by the time you're my age, you'll get more than five in."

"Oh if you're so good babe, why don't you give it a try."

"All you had to do was ask, love."

Loki stepped up and took the rings from the worker who was also laughing, having gotten over having Iron Mn and an actual God at his stall. Tony watched, mystified, as Loki effortlessly tossed the five rings onto the bottles. The worker had stopped laughing and now stared in shock, silently handing him another five. 

It took Loki under 5 minutes to toss the fifty rings, never missing a single one. He accepted the life sized Iron Man stuffed toy from the stunned worker with his signature killer smile. Loki held it close to his body, nodding at the man and turning his attention to Tony who was staring with his mouth agape.

"Close your mouth Anthony, you'll collect flies."

"What-how-Loki how?"

"Have you forgotten that my weapon of choice - that I've trained with for hundreds of centuries, I might add - are daggers and throwing knives. My aim is one of the best in all the realms, love. That Barton comes close, but yet stays so far."

He caught a glance at the worker who was staring at Loki like a man falling in love but quickly shrunk back at Tony's withering glare. 

"I actually forgot that," Tony said, pretending he hadn't just threatened a stranger with his eyes. His mind was also reeling at having Loki call him 'love' twice now.

Loki grinned and took Tony's hand, motioning to a cotton candy stall nearby."Why are those mortals eating cotton?"

"It's candy, babe," Tony laughed, using their locked hands to pull Loki there. "It's actually really great, you need to try some."

"What is this cotton candy called?" Loki asked, free hand wrapped around the new stuffed toy.

"Cotton candy," Tony answered.

"You mortals are very creative, I see."

"The best in all the realms, love." Tony quoted Loki from earlier, watching the grin light up the tall god's face.

Tony ordered them a large cotton candy to share and watched as Loki took a bite. The usually composed eyes widened slightly as Loki let out a soft moan, effectively making Tony wish he had caused it. "Why is it melting in my mouth?"

"It's good, right?"

Loki just nodded, taking another mouthful. "Do you want some?" He offered after five more.

"Nice of you to remember me," Tony quipped, leaning forward for a bite. He felt Loki's eyes on him as their faces got closer, but figured it was nothing. "Where do you want to go next?"

"Anywhere."

Tony looked around, wondering where to take Loki. He settled on more typical games, dragging a willing Loki around and stealing the occasional bite of what was supposed to be _their_  cotton candy. He'd even managed to win him two stuffed animals but Loki won after winning Tony five, not including the Iron Man. All the winnings were kept in Loki's pocket dimension. They went on more fair rides, Loki making their cup spin ridiculously fast on the teacup one with the help of magic. 

Eventually Loki remembered the large ferris wheel. "Lets go on it now," Loki said, pointing and grinning.

Tony just matched his grin and tugged him to the line with their laced fingers. Loki came along happily, telling Tony stories of Asgard and it's views while they waited in line. Tony felt himself falling even more in love with the god as he talked, getting lost in his happier memories. Once he was done, Tony told him about his own childhood - the fun parts - and watched and let himself fall for Loki's laugh.

When it was their turn, Tony got on first. He helped Loki climb in and settle beside him as the woman pushed the bar down on them. Loki kept his eyes on the view, watching in wonder as the fair grew smaller below them and the light seemed to get brighter, more beautiful from up here. Cliche as it is, Tony kept his eyes fixed on Loki, wondering just how crazy it would be to kiss him here, like in all those shitty romance movies.

As though feeling Tony's gaze, Loki turned to look at him, grin bright and green eyes sparkling. Loki noticed the look on Tony's face as he stared at him and his grin faltered slightly. He squeezed their interlaced fingers, looking at Tony with concern now, and he hated that he'd erased the happiness from Loki's face.

"What's wrong, Tony?"

"Nothing," Tony said, fake smiling at him. "I'm fine."

"Tony, I am the God of Lies," Loki pointed out. "I know a lie when I hear one. I also know you. Do the math."

Tony sighed, draping his hand - and with that, Loki's hand - over the bar and leaning forward. He turned to look at Loki when he tugged him back. Loki brought his free hand up to softly touch Tony's cheek, forcing their eyes to meet. "What is wrong, love? You can tell me."

Fuck it all to hell. Loki's soft voice, the look in his eyes, and the way he called Tony the term of endearment sent all his inhibitions flying out the window. On an impulse, Tony fisted his free hand in the soft silk of Loki's shirt and tugged him forward, colliding their lips for the first - and possibly last, his mind unhelpfully supplied - time. He heard Loki's sharp intake of breath and knew he was done for when he got no response, the god going tense under him.

What he didn't anticipate though was that after the shock, Loki melted beneath him, moving the hand on Tony's cheek around his neck, pulling him closer. Tony's own arm around his waist copied the movement, bringing their bodies as close as possible in the ferris wheel. They kissed like drowning men given a breath of air, both acting as though this was their last chance for this, like it would be taken away in a matter of seconds.

As much as they both obviously didn't want to, they had to break apart eventually. Tony gave in to the urge to land a chaste kiss to Loki's bruised lips courtesy of himself, and moaned when Loki didn't let him go, turning the peck deeper. They pulled apart slowly only to rest their forehead together, neither willing to give up the intimacy quite yet. 

Tony was the first to break the serenity of the moment. "So, um, what about that guy?"

Loki stared at him as though he was the biggest idiot in all the worlds. Tony was learning to get used to that these days. "I fell in love with an idiot, didn't I?"

"What?" Tony asked, heart beating even faster at Loki's words.

"It's you, Anthony," Loki said in exasperation. "It's always been you, you utter fool."

Tony let out an 'oh' sound as the puzzle pieces connected in his head. All the looks and laughs from his teammates, the 'dates' Loki took him one, the mystery man never showing up. "You let me call myself an idiot a hundred different ways?"

"In my defence, you are." Loki pointed out.

"Well I can't argue with that," Tony said, tugging Loki in for another kiss. "I love you too, jackass."

God, he was an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was about to drag it out for like another chapter just to torture you guys but then I decided to just make that last chapter it's own one shot.  
> Thank you to everyone who read this and put up with my attempts at humour and romance.  
> I hope you guys like this as much as I liked writing it.

**Author's Note:**

> I really need to stop writing new fics and focus on the old ones. Why am I like this.


End file.
